2/25/2005

"So how do you know if your idea [for a small business] will fly? Research, research, research. Here are a few tips on how to get started.

Talk to Friends, Family and Strangers...

Next, talk to people in the industry you're targeting. Be careful, of course, but don't be paralyzed with fears that these people will steal your idea...

You might also want take your business idea to a chapter office of SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives...

Market Research

We'll be blunt: Market research is essential. This kind of information-gathering can include everything from paying a research firm to prepare a sophisticated industry report to passing out a questionnaire on a street corner...

Try a Test Run

No matter how great your business idea looks on paper, you won't know how your target audience will react until you give it a trial run..."

About Me

I am a business lawyer, deal attorney and professor. I received my B.A. in Economics from Princeton University and my J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. I am an adjunct faculty member of Chatham University and Alfred University. I help people buy and sell businesses, negotiate and close commercial transactions and take advantage of business opportunities. I focus my practice on mergers and acquisitions, technology commercialization, venture capital, software and intellectual property licensing and other commercial and financial transactions.